Child Care News

Darebin childcare scramble: Calls for action over ballooning wait lists
Herald Sun - Ed Gardiner - May 23, 2017

CALLS have been made for urgent government investment in childcare places in Darebin, with hundreds of families on waiting lists. Parents are signing up unborn babies in an attempt to secure a spot on ballooning wait lists across Darebin centres, which have a reputation for being among the...

Other funding avenues available for day care services: Sudmalis
South Coast Register - Emily Barton - May 22, 2017

The future of Family Day Care services in the Shoalhaven is uncertain following withdrawal of federal funding. About $157,000 of federal funding will be stripped from the Shoalhaven service, which cares for Ulladulla children. Shoalhaven Family Day Care is a council sponsored home-based early...

Unvaccinated children to be banned from WA childcare centres, preschools, McGowan says
ABC News - Eliza Laschon - 21 May 2017

WA has joined a national push to keep unvaccinated children out of childcare centres and pre-schools, Premier Mark McGowan has confirmed. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull wrote to state and territory leaders in March urging them to adopt a 'no jab, no play' approach. Mr McGowan responded by...

Families warned they may risk liability for injuries to au pairs and nannies
Busselton Mail - Anna Patty - May 21, 2017

Families may be unwittingly exposing themselves to the risk of liability for injuries to au pairs and nannies they hire directly from online jobs platforms. Sarah Meier, an industrial relations lawyer at a top tier firm, and president of the Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association ACT, said...

Childcare centres on top of investors' pick list
Sydney Morning Herald - Carolyn Cummins - May 19, 2017

Childcare centres are on an upward trajectory in the eyes of investors with more than $200 million worth of asset changing hands in the past year. They are seen, not just as places for children, but as viable commercial real estate investment assets, with strong yield compression, particularly...

With its 2017 budget the government is still discouraging women
The Conversation - Helen Hodgson - May 19, 2017

It's a relief that the government has abandoned the so-called "zombie measures" which included changes to the family tax benefit and paid parental leave measures. These measures would have had a direct impact on women by adding to the effective marginal tax rate. They would also have reduced...

Australia's working mothers show we are over-governed and under-led
Sydney Morning Herald - Harold Mitchell - May 19, 2017

Families know that the very structure of day-to-day life has changed. Grandparents, aunties, uncles and brothers and sisters don't live around the corner anymore and with half of all marriages ending in divorce, mothers and fathers can end up living in different cities. As a result, childcare has been...

Commercial property downturn 'beyond tipping point'
Financial Review - Larry Schlesinger & Michael Bleby - May 18, 2017

The managing director of listed childcare centre landlord Arena REIT says the debt-fuelled binge by investors on commercial property means the odds of a downturn are now "well beyond the tipping point". "Record low yields, new supply, generally high debt levels, increasing debt margins and investors...

Childcare centres not in oversupply: research
The Australian - Elizabeth Redman - May 18, 2017

An oversupply of childcare centres looks unlikely despite media reports warning of a glut, according to analyst research. Shaw and Partners senior analyst Peter Zuk did not see evidence that a perceived or actual childcare oversupply was negatively affecting the occupancy, rents or property...

G8 Education in trading halt pending talks with investor
Financial Review - Carrie LaFrenz - May 17 2017

G8 Education has been placed in a trading halt as it holds talks with its major investor, Hong Kong listed China First Capital Group (CFCG), over a requested delay in second tranche payment of a share placement announced in February. Sources speculated the Queensland-based childcare group may...

Childcare asset yields nudge closer to residential returns
Financial Review - Su-Lin Tan - May 16, 2017

The sale of a 36-place G8 Childcare centre property in Vaucluse in Sydney's eastern suburbs at Sydney's commercial auctions on Tuesday has established a record low yield for a childcare asset of 3.6 per cent. The 708-square metre property at 5 Billong Avenue sold for $4.425 million at Burgess Rawson's...

Stay-at-home fathers do less childcare than working mothers, research finds
The Guardian - May 16, 2017

Stay-at-home fathers remain relatively rare in Australia, and even these men spend slightly less time on childcare than their working wives, new research shows. The report by the Australian Institute of Family Studies shows stay-at-home fathers take on only slightly more housework than mothers...

Lead paint discovered at second ANU campus childcare centre; test results due Wednesday
Canberra Times - Daniel Burdon - May 15, 2017

A play area at the University Preschool and Childcare Centre at the Australian National University campus has been closed after lead-based paint was discovered on an exterior courtyard wall. The discovery of the lead-based paint followed a warning last week to parents of children at the...

Getting the best long-term start in life is really child's play
The Australian - Alison Gopnik - May 15, 2017

Any preschool teacher will tell you that young children learn through play, and some of the best known preschool programs make play central. One of the most famous approaches began after World War II around the northern Italian city of Reggio Emilia and developed into a worldwide movement...

Vaccination refusers: No Jab No Pay requires scrutiny, immunisation experts warn
Sydney Morning Herald - Kate Aubusson - May 15, 2017

The jury is still out on the Turnbull government's landmark No Jab No Pay policy, with immunisation experts warning policies targeting vaccine refusers may have unintended consequences. Australia's vaccination rates are relatively high and at least comparable with similar developed countries...